Fire In The Sky
by Besarki
Summary: Life for 13 year-old Hana is literally hell on Earth. His family is gone and Hao’s missionaries are everywhere—all trying to kill him and his two friends. Millions are dead, the world is ablaze. There’s fire in those skies and no one's turning back.
1. Crimson Skies

Besarki: I hate stories which have the title in the summary, but that line was just too cool! I couldn't not use it! Meh...right.

Anywho, I honestly don't know where this came from. I sat down to write the next chapter of Living For The Moment and, instead, I wrote this. I can't trust my fingers when I put them on the keyboard. They're unpredictable. I kinda really like this idea, though, so if anyone is interested, I'd love to continue it.

Pairings will be:  
Hana/Anna III  
Yoh/Anna

Implied pairings will be:  
Ren/Jeanne

However, I'm horrible at cutesy, fluffy, cuddly stuff so don't be looking for lots of kissy happy makeout scenes, cause trust me, you won't find them here.

**Asakura Anna** vs. **Patch Anna**  
Though they are both in the story, I will be referring to both of them as just Anna most of the time. Asakura Anna is absent for the first part so there won't be any confusion. Hana is the narrator and refers to Asakura Anna as Kaa-chan or Kaa-san anyway however, to prevent confusion, Patch Anna will be written as Anna III when Asakura Anna is also in the same chapter.

Also, I don't know much about Anna the 3rd so she'll be portrayed like Asakura Anna since that seems to be the way she's going to act. At least, that's what I got from Hana's Epoch.

This fic is very angsty, but humor will always be my forte so you'll see it shining through in many situations. Hee hee. You understand.

DISCLAIMER FOR ENTIRE STORY: I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING OR ANY RELATED ELEMENTS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO TAKEI HIROYUKI AND SHUEISHA!!!

I don't know if I'm going to have my song corner here like I did in LFTM. If I do I'll start within the next few chapters.

* * *

**Hana**

My name is Asakura Hana. I am a thirteen year-old boy living in an abandoned shack with my two friends, Tao Men and Anna III.

To say that my life has supremely sucked these past few years would be a vast understatement. Ever since Hao became Shaman King, well, we'll just say that it hasn't been a walk in the park. This is for many, many reasons.

Hao's followers are numbered in millions these days, and it seems that they've made it their goal to make life miserable for everyone who doesn't follow Hao heart and soul. Not that there are many of us _non-followers_ to begin with. Those who oppose Asakura Hao are dealt with accordingly--usually meaning that they're killed on the spot unless Hao sees them as considerably useful, in which case they are taken prisoner.

Humans are as much dying breed as shamans. Hao's mind twisted even further when he became king so he left some humans alive to force them to live in fear. Their lives are even worse than ours and that's really saying something.

To be honest, though, even though Hao became Shaman King before I was born, my life hasn't always sucked. For my first few years, I was happy. I was really and truly happy. I lived in the Funbari Inn and Onsen with my mother, father, and a few of their friends. Life was nice for me. I had a comfy bed to sleep in at night, and I always had food to eat at mealtime. In truth, I wasn't even aware of the crisis with Hao at that time. My parents never mentioned it and Hao and his followers stayed far away from my hometown.

That all changed when my father went on a trip around my eighth birthday. Conditions deteriorated almost as soon as he left, almost as if he was the reason they were staying away.

Houses were burned down all around us, but, for a while, they left us alone.

And then _that night_ happened.

They came in droves, flocking in and destroying everything. They set the inn on fire and loosed havoc on everything within the humble building. Blood spattered everywhere, mixing with the flying debris and broken windows and vases. The whole thing was a disaster.

I fought, but was quickly defeated. I don't think they knew that I was still alive because they didn't bother with me after that. Kaa-chan and the others weren't so lucky.

When I awoke, the fire had gone out, but the damage was overwhelming. I found that Ryu, Tamao, and Hana-gumi were all dead, and Kaa-san was gone. Those who had been staying in the inn were also killed. I was the only one left.

I left the En Inn after that. Even though I didn't have anything more than the clothes on my back and my spirit ally, Amidamaru I just knew that I had to go. I couldn't risk still being there if _they_ came back.

In the first few days, I really just wanted to roll over and die. I saw the real horrors of Hao's Shaman Kingdom. I saw death, pain, and sorrow in everything. I saw the dying children on the streets--a lot of them even younger than me. I saw the weeping families who had been torn apart just as mine had. I saw just how lost everyone was. It was getting harder to breathe with all that going on around me. I felt like I was suffocating on everyone's despair.

Nothing was going my way. I was hungry and cold and I missed everyone. I really couldn't see any good in the situation no matter where I looked. Things were just...

I continued forward, but with everything that happened, it was hard to stay positive. Most of the time, I didn't. They took my mother away and I didn't know _where _the hell my father was. How was I honestly supposed to look at the bright side, especially when there wasn't one?

Amidamaru tried to comfort me, but I could tell that he was just as broken as I was. Neither of us could take much more of what was happening. We pushed on.

A few weeks later, I ran into Men, a kid I had met once was I was younger, but had sort of forgotten about. He was really little at the time, and I was surprised that he had managed to get this far without anyone other than his spirits. Though he was in the same boat as I was, and I felt pretty bad for him, it was really the best thing that had happened to me in a while.

Men had suffered a similar fate in China and was looking for familiar survivors in Japan since he apparently couldn't find any in his home country. Like me, Men's parents were supposedly still alive, but he didn't know where they were. Men and his two spirits, Shamash and Bason joined up with me and Amidamaru with next to no hesitation.

Men and I traveled together for the next two years. We ran into trouble more times than I can count, but we somehow managed to get out of it every time.

Men found the shack that we live in now abandoned in the woods.

When I was ten, Men and I were out on one of our expeditions when we met Anna. No, not my mother Anna, though apparently she was named after her.

Anna the third was a Patch girl who used to live in America. She crossed the ocean after her tribe was massacred by one of Hao's mercenary units. Anna was two years older than me and eight years older than Men, though she didn't really look it. I recognized her father's name when she told us, but her mother didn't sound familiar to me. Men didn't recognize either of them, but I can't say I was really surprised about that. Anna didn't like talking about the incident, though, so we really don't know much more about her family like, whether or not they were still alive. Men has tried to get more out of her, but I know how she feels so I haven't pushed her.

Really, she was an enigma to us. Regardless of that, though, we took her with us and headed forward.

For the next three years, Men, Anna, and I focused on just staying out of the line of fire. We weren't very strong due to our young age. Though it was kind of embarrassing, Anna took care of us most of the time because she was the only one that was really old enough to do much of anything. She always teased us about it and asked if we needed help cutting our food and such. One time, Men actually did. I admit that that was kind of funny.

I helped where I could, but, being only a preteen, there wasn't much I could do. I started chipping in a lot more when I turned thirteen. The two of us teased Men a lot, pretending to be like his mother and father. He didn't appreciate that.

The three of us made up an odd family unit, but, for the first time in years, I found some small shred of happiness. However, I still missed my family, both immediate and extended. My companions shared my feelings.

Up until now, we haven't had a real objective other than just _staying alive_, but now that we're a little older, we've all agreed that we'd like to put an end to Hao's Shaman Kingdom. Because he was the Shaman King, the Patch insisted that what had happened was irrevocable. Anna wasn't so sure about that, and neither were Men and I. We'd also like to find our parents. I'm sure they'd help us, and really...it would be great to see them again.

I suppose that I should be thankful that I'm still alive and that I have Men, Anna, and our spirits to act as a makeshift family. I know that I would have given up long ago had it not been for them.

My father once told me that everything happens for a reason. While I have to wonder what the reason could possibly be for all this, I'd like to say that I believe him.

After all, my father has never lied to me before. Even if he is a family-ditching bastard, I still love him and I forgive him because I know that there's no way in hell he planned for this.

I sighed as I stared out at the red sky. Who would wish this for the world? Even for Hao it seems a little extreme. Was this really the beautiful world he had planned for?

I shook my head disdainfully.

Behind me, I heard the curtain ruffle. I knew who it was without even looking.

"Hana," Anna beckoned in a quiet voice, so not to bother me, I imagined. I didn't like to be disturbed when I was thinking deeply like this, but she and I both knew that standing out in the open was dangerous. She could be annoying, but she meant well.

"I know, sorry." I sighed once more then turned around and walked into the little house, allowing the curtain to fall over the entrance behind me.

* * *

Besarki: Ahhhh! Chapter 1 is over. Like honestly, I had no plans to write this, then I sat down and BAM! Written. That said, the only plot I have for this story is what I thought of while I was writing this. Surprisingly, I really thought of quite a bit, though.

Bah. I don't have much to say since this wasn't a planned project. I'll be more talkative later. :D

Introduction has concluded. Actual interactions and what's going on in the present will appear and be revealed in chapter 2. Chapters will also be longer than this by a lot, by the way (I rarely post a chapter which is under 2000 words in the body of the chapter, not the body and author's notes). I don't normally write impulsively like this, either, and really, I just felt like getting it out. I wrote the first thing that came to mind without thinking it out so it's pretty short. Still, it was only an introduction and I'm sure you'd rather not be bored with some epically long intro, right? Right? Right...? Hehehe. That's all for now, Munchies!

The updating speed for this depends on how many reviews and PMs are left/sent. So, you can figure out what I'm gonna say now... :)

REVIEW!


	2. Prisoner Mentality

Besarki: So I was feeling particularly twisted today. O.o I can't say why but it made for a pretty decent opening so I can't complain. XD

Oh, and AHHHHHH! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I THANK YOU MANY TIMES OVER! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

Anyway, I've actual partial to this story over Living For Tomorrow. This one has a better plot. I liked Living For The Moment better than this because I was already past the truly hard parts of the story so I played favorites and focused on that one. I don't know what I focus on between this and LFT. I'll probably divide my attention between both. ^-^

Unless one of the two is clearly favored. -.- In which I'll focus on that one.

**Bolded names** at the beginning of passages indicate a change in the POV for those who aren't familiar with my style.

Ohmygosh! What's this? A song? Yay! Disclaimer: I don't own it or any other songs used!

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I don't want to be the same anymore  
Gotta find what I'm here for  
But it's so hard to change  
When life gets in the way_

_Seems everyone around me has moved on  
Where's the spark when the spark has gone?  
It's so hard to change, when life gets in the way_

_~Life Gets In the Way, Gary Go_

* * *

**???**

My fingers curled around the short metallic bars which kept me here. They were cold, rusted, and too strong for mortal hands to bend.

Slowly, I released them, sliding to the ground below the barred window to be reduced to little more than a lonely heap on the floor.

I hated it. I hated it so much.

When Hao became Shaman King, I knew we'd be in for major disaster, but nothing could have prepared me for _this._

Nothing could have prepared _anyone_ for this.

Militants everywhere, the sky a deadly red, all of humanity enslaved, onis rampaging through a plane that wasn't their own.

How could anyone, even _Hao_ wish this on the world?

It was horrible, too horrible. I don't want to admit it, but I'd be a filthy liar to not acknowledge that even _my_ spirit had been broken. My family is missing, maybe dead. I know for a fact that my friends, if I could call them that, are, thanks to Hao and his spineless minions.

_His minions._ Ha! All of them are pathetic. Too scared to stand up to him! Too scared to be someone! Too scared to do what they know is right!

Too scared to end up like me...

...I know...that no matter what I could have done, I would have ended up like this: broken and alone. I fought, of course I did...but it didn't amount to anything. I wasn't strong enough. I never will be.

Hao knows that, and so do I...

He knows...too much...

He knows...

...Everything...

...He is...

...

...Hao visits me more than the other prisoners. To laugh and taunt me and make me feel worse than I already do. After he's made his plans, he often comes to share them with me, not because he thinks I have a right to know--more that he knows just how much each word hurts, how each cuts me like a rusted razor, leaving me to bleed over the cold, stony floor.

He has no heart, and he has no fear. He toys with his prisoners' emotions, breaking them down into nothing.

Those who could actually pose a threat were they to escape are treated the worst. It's almost like he's daring us to try, showing us just how much worse things will be for us if our escape fails.

Ren...

Jeanne...

Goldva...

Lyserg...

Me...

There's too many to count. Too many of us that could cause him problems once, but are absolutely nothing now...

Too many of us that live in constant fear that the apocalypse is upon us...

Too many...

...

His plans involve frequently involve my son, Hana. It gives me hope that he's still alive somehow, but I know better than to rely on anything I hear from Hao, positive or not. I don't think I could take _another_ let down.

Sigh.

...

I try not to torture myself too much since Hao does a good enough job of that already. I try, but I don't always do the best job. It's prisoner mentality. The feelings that Hao's physical and mental abuse infuse within us.

The feelings that it may be better to just give up and die. To let go...

I didn't move as the door to the right of my cell creaks open. The guards standing outside of my cell salute as their master and commander struts in from the side.

"Good evening," The dark-haired warlord greeted, a hint of laughter deep in his voice. The guards shouted a unanimous, "Sir!" but otherwise said nothing in response. Hao smiled at both of them the stepped around guards and peered through the tall bars that locked my cell off from the outside world. "And good evening to you."

I didn't say anything. Instead, I insisted on staring pointedly at the rock walls that lined my cage on three sides. Hao didn't seem to mind the silent treatment and just went on talking.

"I see you're just as quiet as ever."

"..."

He chuckled. "You can ignore me all you want, Princess. It's only hurting you."

It wasn't hurting me. Not by a long shot.

His smile never faded. "Always so talkative."

"..."

"Anyway, you'll never guess who I found today."

I twitched against my will, but gave no other response. Unfortunately, even the smallest movement was enough for him. He laughed, and I had to restrain myself from lashing out at him.

"By that, I'm guessing that you already know, don't you?" His smile turned malicious.

I didn't reply, but inside I was screaming at myself for even guessing. I hoped with all that I was that my guess was wrong.

"Oh, I definitely think you know." His teeth flashed. "A few days ago, I sent an oni down to the southern coast to look for anyone hiding among the wreckage. Truthfully, I expected to find nothing. After all, my guards have captured basically everyone up to now, haven't they?"

_No. No. No. No._

"Well, it seems that there were three children that escaped their watchful eyes."

At that point, I couldn't take it anymore. My head whipped toward him.

_Oh no, please no._

His answering smile spoke louder than any string of words.

My heart stopped, and I immediately knew it was over.

Hao merely smiled and stepped away from the cell's gates.

"Goodnight, little prisoner."  
---_0_---_0_---_0_---_0_---_0_---  
**Hana**

I let out a loud sigh as I glanced out the window for the fourth time in the past five minutes. Hao's missionaries hadn't moved so much as a muscle from their post from this morning. I don't know why I even bothered checking.

"That's not going to do you any good, you know," Anna commented, twisting her sword around in her hands. "They're still going to be there no matter how much you look at them."

I groaned. "I know." _Unfortunately. _

She smirked, sheathed her weapon, and sat down beside me, punching me in the shoulder for what she probably considered to be good measure. "We've been living the same way for years. I don't know why you think everything's going to suddenly change overnight."

"Never hurt to hope, right?" I asked, flashing a her a weak smile.

Men stomped into the room, then, Bason and Shamash floating behind him. "This is _so_ dumb! We should be out there ripping those apes to pieces!"

"Go for it, Tarzan," I muttered. Anna had to bite her tongue in order to not laugh.

He grunted. "I don't see _you_ coming up with a better plan," He retorted.

I shrugged. "Well, considering the fact that if we go out now, we'd be outnumbered by about twenty to one, I think staying here until they switch shifts sounds like a great idea."

"I have to agree Hana-dono," Amidamaru spoke up. Hmm. I didn't even realize he was in the room.

"You're already dead! What does it matter to you?" Men spat. The samurai looked taken aback.

"Don't be a jerk," I growled. "We're supposed to fight Hao, not each other."

He vehemently refused to make eye contact. "Whatever."

"Look, I know that you're just itching to get out there and--"

"I'm itching to get out there and _do something_ already! We aren't doing the resistance any good by just sitting around here!"

"What resistance?" Anna demanded. "For all we know, the only shamans left besides us are too scared to do anything. Hao's a powerhouse."

"Both of you, cut it out." I hated being the voice of reason, but a kid had to do what a kid had to do. I glared at the youngest member of our little group. "We nearly lost you the last time we engaged them. If Anna hadn't been right there, you wouldn't have a head right now."

"You still haven't thanked me for saving you," She hissed at him.

"That's because I didn't need you. I could have handled that joke just fine by myself."

"Uh huh," She snorted.

Men clenched his fists. "Hana, we've been stuck in here for weeks. Didn't you say the purpose of us teaming up was to stop Hao?"

I pushed myself to my feet. "The purpose of us teaming up is to stay alive. The purpose of us staying alive is to defeat Hao." I stalked across the room, watching the soldiers from the magically cloaked window. It was a pretty cool trick. The hut looked totally deserted from the outside, but once you stepped _inside_ you could see just how occupied it truly was. It was Patch magic. "Anna sent Silver Wing out to survey the area a few days ago. Even for a ghost, it's hard to get by Hao's troops undetected, especially when the whole world is looking for you. When he gets back, he'll give us his report."

"And it will be only bad news, like always."

I knew that. I knew that better than any of them. I _hated_ just standing here doing nothing, but there were only three of us against the entire world. There was only so much we could do...

"Not necessarily. No army is foolproof. Everyone makes mistakes." And that was what I was waiting for.

Our little hut was situated in a little niche on the western coast of Japan. We were low, really low, almost at the bottom of the small country. Hao was at the top, not quite in Hokkaido, but close. Japan was the most heavily guarded of all of the Earth's nations, probably because it was a big place for shamans, especially after the last tournament. It came to no surprise that a lot of them never left the country.

We weren't so dumb as to go looking for these shamans as Hao probably had most of them locked up or dead already. We were going to go straight for Hao.

More precisely, we were going to go straight for Hao's prison. It was a pretty poor shot against him as we were, but maybe if we could release some help...

"SHIT!" Anna's furious voice interrupted my pondering.

My face whipped in her direction. She was looking out the other window. "I don't think we're waiting for Silver Wing."

I could see it just as clearly as she could. There, walking slowly and cautiously, were two of Hao's men striding toward the house. "The back door," I gasped the order. "Grab your mediums and run!"

Everyone complied without another word, rushing out the back way as fast as they possibly could. Just as I shot out the door, I heard someone smashing in a window and breaking Anna's Indian spell. "What the...?!" The man yelled. "Hey! I think there's someone living here."

The second man snorted. "Not anymore. Burn it."

I didn't bother listening after that.  
---_0_---_0_---_0_---_0_---_0_---  
All three of us collapsed under a big bridge after we had run for almost half an hour. Anyone could have called us out of shape, but when three kids sprint faster than they're normally capable of without slowing even once, well, things happen.

"Did we lose them?" Anna asked.

Men shook his head. "No one was ever actually chasing us," He replied. "...Somehow..."

It was true. We'd been lucky. Almost _too_ lucky in the fact that we'd taken a completely deserted trail. I decided that now wasn't a good time to get all superstitious.

"Darn it!" I hissed. I pounded my fist against the ground. Both Anna and Men turned to stare at me.

"What's wrong? Did you get hurt?" Anna asked between breaths.

"No."

"Then what are you moping about?" Good old bipolar Anna.

I didn't answer. I painstakingly rose onto my knees and glanced in all directions. No soldiers in plain site, but I'd bet money that there were some on the bridge above us. "Shit...I thought we were safe."

My two friends were sitting up now. They seemed to have caught their breath a lot easier than I caught mine.

"Don't blame yourself," Men spoke up. "We knew Hao would find us eventually." I had to say that I was a little surprised that Men was taking my side.

Anna placed her hand on my back. "We can't do anything about it now. We just have to put it behind us and move forward."

I sighed, knowing that, once again she was right.

I fell back against the grass. My head landed just outside of the bridges shadow.

My eyes went to the sky, remembering stories of when it was a natural black or blue. Somewhere, hidden behind the blankets of red, I thought I saw a star twinkling.

"Look," I said, pointing up to it. Anna and Men both peered up in the direction I pointed.

"Is that a star?" Men asked in astonishment.

Anna chuckled. "Make a wish."

I have a good feeling that all three of us wished for the same thing.

* * *

Besarki: I have a really cool plot planned but I have to get them out of the area before it can begin. So, that's why the second part was so lame. The first kind of balanced it, though, right? :D *Hopes*

The person in the first passage was Asakura Anna if you didn't figure that out. In that passage, she was exhausted. I was trying to show that by repeating lines and using lots of ellipses. I think I got it across but for the sake that I didn't, she was tired and pretty much dead to the world and that's why the writing was so weird.

I've noticed that I am generally very mean to her XD. She gets tortured, or killed, or changed into a fox in all my fics. x.x I actually like Anna, though. Believe it or not. XD

Review!


	3. A Better World

Besarki: Arghhhh! This is so damn late. College is way harder than I thought it would be TT_TT The updating speed for this _is_ faster than once a month, I swear. I've just been busy is all. v.v Sowwie...

Okay, so I thought I'd put up a chart with everyone's spirit allies right away rather than wait until they appear in the story so here it is:

Hana  
Amidamaru

Men  
Bason  
Shamash

Anna III  
Silver Wing  
Silver Tail

Didn't know Anna's but since all the other parents seem to be passing their spirits down, I figured that Silva probably is too, though the fact that Anna uses a sword probably indicates that she uses a different ghost, but whatever. These are subject to change.

Thank you again to everyone who reviewed. I will eventually get around to replying to you guys. o.o This chapter is kinda short. They'll get longer as we begin to finally explore the real plot of the story. Phew. These intros are driving me crazy.

No song this time. I'm too damn tired to look through my library for a good one. I listened to _The Technicolor Phase_ by Owl City while I was writing the end of this one, though so we'll say this chapter's song is _The Technicolor Phase_. I'll try not to repeat songs that I used in Living For The Moment, but since these stories are unrelated, I don't exactly feel guilty about doing so.

* * *

The quiet clanking sound of coins colliding together was the only sound that filled the air apart from our breathing.

After what seemed like an eternity, one of us sighed. Collectively, we only had the equivalent of about 4000 yen left in our reserve. That wasn't nearly enough to go _grocery shopping_, let alone storm the country. Plus, Anna's money was in American dollars and Men's in Renminbi so we'd have to pay even more to get their shares converted into yen like mine.

"Well, it seems fairly obvious that we aren't exactly rich here," Anna quietly lamented.

"I'm surprised that you don't have more, pointy. Isn't your old man loaded?" I asked, teasing just a little bit in order to lighten the air.

Men threw me a defiant look. "Don't even start, Hana. It's not my fault your family is so damn poor."

I chuckled slightly then flashed him a grin. I knew how much Men hated my petty optimism, but in times like these, well, it couldn't hurt.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Asakura," The Chinese boy hissed. Then again, maybe it could.

"Please accept my _humblest_ apologies," I teased.

Men growled and took a swing at my head. He missed.

"Aww, what's wrong, little guy? You're not mad are you?" I laughed.

And Anna clobbered me with the hilt of her sword.

"That's enough _children_," She boredly put forth. She didn't mind my fury as she went to reattach her weapon to it's resting place on her belt.

I cringed, rubbing the back of my skull while sending a baleful glare in her direction. She _completely_ ignored me.

Across from us, Men merely crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air.

I scoffed. This wasn't getting us anywhere. Might as well speak the obvious and get this conversation rolling. "Well, it's fairly apparent that we're pretty much broke," I said, reaching forward and pulling all of our money into the little sack it had been in previously, tying the mouth closed with a dingy little string. "Let's cross our fingers that it won't cost much to fund this little escapade."

Anna swiped the bag out of my hand, and then carefully balanced it in her own. She eyed it carefully as if there might be some hidden compartment somewhere within it, though we all knew that such a thought was ridiculous. "It's at least enough to buy a map and some meager provisions," She pointed out.

"If we can find a store," Men mumbled.

Anna placed the hand holding the money bag against her hip and set herself in a pondering pose, her other hand on her chin and her eyes staring skyward.

"The map is a must," She noted. "Especially since Hana's the only native here and he has no sense of direction."

"HEY!" I shouted. I wasn't about to stand here and take this abuse. Especially not from _Anna_.

She didn't seem to share my views. As soon as I finished shouting, Anna turned her head and flashed me a grin, but made no move to further address me.

"Okay, so on the off chance that there _is_ something open somewhere," Men began, "we still have the problem of _finding_ _it_ and getting there without being found _ourselves_."

I shrugged indifferently. "We've been dodging Hao for years. What's to say that we can't do it now?"

"Maybe the fact that our lookout, Silver Wing, is now _gone?_"

I frowned, knowing that he was right. Amidamaru was just as good a lookout as Silver Wing, but, unlike my two companions, I only had one spirit ally. If he got caught or I got caught without him, we were both in deep trouble.

So sending Amidamaru was out. Bason wasn't exactly quiet so he wasn't a good idea either. Silver Tail was Anna's only spirit until we met up with Silver Wing again so he was out, too.

That left Shamash, which was, go figure, the most recognizable out of all of our spirits, apart from Amidamaru, maybe. That made us rule him out too unless absolutely necessary.

_Great._ I sighed. This was just getting better and better.

"We mustn't be so negative," Amidamaru pressed, noting the look on my face. "There is still much to be grateful for."

"Such as...?" I trailed. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.

Anna came to my spirit's rescue, changing the topic back to the one at hand. "Silver Wing had offhandedly reported a small shop a little north of here. I don't know if it's still there or not, but it's our best bet." She assumed her thinking pose once more. "We should split up. They're looking for three of us, right? Call me crazy, but if we acted human and kept a low profile, I think that Hao's minions might just be stupid enough not to bother us."

Both Men and I stared at her with dead expressions. "She's totally lost it," I deadpanned.

"Totally," Men agreed.

Anna stuck her tongue out. "Look, I'm just trying to think outside the box here. If we just hang out here, Hao's gonna find us. We have to _move_."

I exchanged glances with my comrades. Much as I hated to admit it, Anna had a point.

"So, you think we should split up? For how long? And where would we meet back up?" I asked. "We are meeting back up right?"

Anna grinned, clearly pleased that we were taking up her approach. "Well, we won't just split up for no reason. I was thinking that we should gather materials--which Men and I will cover--and you can scope out the area. You're the best at sneaking around."

"'Cause you're the scrawniest out of all of us," Men added. I shot him a venomous glare, which he merely shrugged off.

"Okay, so Men being a bonehead aside, what's the plan?"

"Your intensive maturity astounds me, mongrel," Men quipped. I ignored him.

"As I was saying," Anna started, shooting us both warning glances to caution us to keep quiet or else, "I'll get the map and whatever else I can afford in town. If I run into trouble, Silver Tail can help me escape.  
"Men, you can gather some food from the forest. Those goons shouldn't be able to see you because of your size, but for the sake that they do, don't confront them. I mean it. Act like some scared little human and hightail it. They should be completely fooled.  
"Hana, I want _you_ to find out which way is north and find us a good path in that direction. Unfortunately, the guards will know who _you_ are if they see you so stay out of their sight. I'll see about buying you a disguise in town."

_Super. _"What's your definition of '_a good path_'?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "The road with the least guards--" Insert '_DUH_' "--If you find one with none at all, it's probably a trap. Speaking of which, I have a feeling that that last run was a bit too easy. No guards the entire time? Fishy. I think we may have run into a set up. I don't know if it just failed or if we're still in it so I want both of you need to keep your eyes peeled for anything overly suspicious. Also, try to keep spirit usage to a minimum. Remember that most of the guard is human so they can't see our ghosts, but I wouldn't doubt that there would be a shaman mixed in there so don't take too many liberties. Remember: We're _'humans_.'"

"Sounds simple enough," Men mused. I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so after we finish our jobs, where should we meet up? I would rather not backtrack so let's pick somewhere ahead of us."

"Seeing as how we don't know which direction is which right now, and 'ahead of us' might be somewhere far behind, I think backtracking back to the bottom of the bridge sounds just fine," Anna decided. I simply sighed, knowing full well that I didn't have a prayer when it came to arguing with her. She reminded me of my mother sometimes.

"Okay fine. The bridge it is, but when?"

"Tomorrow," She announced. "Sundown at the latest. If you aren't there by then, we'll--"

"Look for you," I interrupted firmly. I wore a hard, unwavering face. "We aren't leaving anybody behind."

Anna slapped me upside the head. "That's what I was going to _say_, Hana," She hissed.

I shrugged, not sure if I believed her or not. Not sure that it mattered.

A sudden wave of excitement washed over me, and while I couldn't for the life of me understand it, I wasn't about to turn it away. "Okay," I began, a mischievous smirk on my face, "we've got the whole damn world looking for us, a sadistic madman sitting around waiting for us to mess up, parents that may or may not need saving, and a whole other load of shit waiting for us. Are you guys ready for this?"

My two friends snickered in amusement.

Anna held her hand over her mouth to try to muffle her laughter, while Men just went ahead and gave it to me straight.

"Hana, you give the lamest pep talks," He informed me.

I clapped my hands together once, a half-crazed grin on my face. "I'm perfectly aware of that, Men. Now, are we doing this or what?"

My eyes traveled to Anna's and then to Men's. Both nodded and threw me confident smirks.

"As long as I get to give the speeches from now on," Men bartered.

I grinned. "Deal."

A moment later, our meeting was interrupted by an unwelcome guest. "Hey! What are you kids doing?" An oncoming soldier demanded, marching to compensate for the mud that caused his boots to stubbornly stick to the ground.

Our heads whipped toward him and then back to each other.

"Separate!" I whispered.

Without another word, the three of us turned and sprinted off in opposite directions, driven by a rush of adrenaline and the promise of a better life.

* * *

Besarki: Aaaaand they're splitting up for a bit. We'll be staying with Hana, of course (cause he's my favorite ;) ) but those two will be back, OR MAYBE THEY'LL GET KILLED AND BE GONE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY! BWAHAHAHAAAA! ...No, they'll be back -.-

Hana, Men, and Anna are like frickin Camp Dreary so I'm giving Anna a little bit more of a positive outlook to balance the boys out. Men will be the gloomy one throughout and, while Hana will have his Yoh moments, I'm going to try to write him like I write his mother--sarcastic. Asakura Anna's cruel sense of humor may show up in her namesake from time to time, but mostly it will be with Hana. I'm really just experimenting with their characters right now, seeing how I want to write them. I think this is going to be it, though. Not sure, yet.

I had no idea where I was going with this chapter until the end, which is why it's so redundant throughout and why the beginning sucks so bad. Sighhhhh.

Don't remember if Anna wore a belt before, but she does now. Blah.

Haha. I've been watching too much Justice League. I quoted it like a bazillion times in this chapter. Hahaha. Even the title is after an episode (one which is definitely not among my favorites though it was a good one). Aye, I can't help it. I am the biggest dork in the history of crowbar-wielding dorks.

DAMN! THIS IS A LONG ASS AUTHOR'S NOTE! Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I finally set up a Fire in the Sky page on my website. I'll let you know when I'm working on the chapter and when to expect delays. Also, I play games occasionally. If you participate in the games, I'll consider it super extra crazy awesome. I'll have a reviewer award at the end of the story for whoever got the most of those questions right along with the regular reviewer awards. Answer in a review or PM!

Kay. That's it for now. If you leave Besarki reviews, she'll be your best friend! *Sad attempt at puppy dog eyes* Bah, this works better:

REVIEW OR I'LL HIT YOU WITH MY CROWBAR!


	4. This is War

Besarki: Guess what, Munchies? I just realized how quarked up this storyline is! As in, characters who died in the original storyline (Takei's storyline, which we'll call the ULTIMATE STORYLINE OF DOOM, DEATH, AND DISASTER! ((and rotten non-Hana's Epoch-continuing grunt-growl-hiss. That Jumbor thing was a MAJOR letdown))) aren't dead in this storyline! WOOT!

So, I have to go a little nuts, though I will do my absolute best to not take too many liberties, cause I can totally understand hating authors who do that (I personally go berserk...over anything, BUT ESPECIALLY OVER MORONS WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!) Anyway, I'm going to have to do some resurrecting in a few places (like with a select few Patch, though didn't Yoh say he was going to bring them back anyway?), though I'll be keeping mostly to Takei's story.

Ah, well, anyway, this is sort of a short chapter. However, this is the finale for introductions. The route is established here and next chapter we'll finally have direction _and_ length! YAY!

Before I begin, I want to extend a congrats to **-CoinJager-** who is currently leading the scoreboards for my picture game with 1 point! Doesn't seem like much now, but that's all it takes to win first place! WATCH OUT OR HE'LL KICK YOUR BUTTS, MUNCHIES! I'm going to be setting up challenge number 2 within the next few hours! Give it a try!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_All the pain I thought I knew  
All the thoughts lead back to you  
Back to what was never said  
Back and forth inside my head  
I can't handle this confusion  
I'm unable, come and take me away_

_~Take Me Away, Avril Lavigne  
_

* * *

_Sitting alone in a large room, a tiny child laughed as he placed yet another block above his alphabet block tower. He wasn't very old, a year or two maybe, three being the limit._

_The child was happy, healthy, and smart, though he wasn't exactly growing up in a positive learning environment. Truthfully, to say he was growing up in a warzone would be being _nice_, though, at his young age, he didn't know just how dangerous his neighborhood, his _country_ was. He didn't know just how hard his parents worked to keep him safe and sheltered and oblivious to the horrors of the outside world. He didn't know, and they hoped he never would._  
_  
It was better that way._

_The little boy, blond in hair and gold in eyes, wasn't like other boys his age. Physically, he was completely normal. A stranger would notice no difference between him and another little boy in he same age group. However, while his looks were very much the same, his mind had a single extra attribute, one that led a similar being to start this whole genocide. The little Japanese boy was a ghost-seer, a shaman, and that fact alone made it all the more dangerous for him to be there._

_The little one frowned in concentration as he reached forward to place one more block on his structure. It wobbled a bit so he pushed it forward and held his hand there until he was sure it was steady. When he was sure that it was on and wasn't going anywhere, he withdrew his chubby baby hand and leaned back to admire his work._

_Had he been older, he would have known that the last thing his work looked like was a tower, his initial plan and idea, but, in his youth, it looked exactly like he wanted it to. A job well done._

_Wrapped up in his incoherent thoughts, the infant didn't notice the small woman standing in the threshold, watching him like a hawk watched a lone mouse scampering about the ground, ocher eyes never leaving lest something happen and she be helpless to stop it._

_"Hana?" The woman asked after a moment._

_The small boy paused in his activities to glance up toward the source of the just spoken words. He smiled when he found it._

_Leaning against the door frame while she hung around watching him was nothing new for Hana's young mother, Anna. In fact, this was something she did daily, sometimes hourly! Hana assumed that this was normal behavior for a child's mother. He had no other guide to go off of, but even if he had, he would always assume that _his_ mother was the norm. What Hana didn't know was that Anna wasn't checking on him because she liked watching him play with his awesome as anything building blocks, but was instead checking up on him...just to make sure he was still there. To ensure that he was still breathing..._

_Hana had no idea just how much stress his family was under. He didn't know that, only yesterday, his father had been ambushed by a bunch of soldiers who valued the price on his head more than his company. He had gotten away, of course, and had returned to home with nothing more than a bleeding arm which his wife quickly wrapped before Hana could see it. But then, it was an off day when something didn't happen, even in their area--the safest around._

_Hana didn't know any of that. To his knowledge, everything was right and normal in the world. He wasn't living an exactly normal life, but the sky above him was still blue and there were still normal people outside...sometimes._

_"Kaa-cha!" Hana giggled, pushing himself up and away from his tower and then happily waddling over to his mother and falling into her welcoming embrace._

_She lifted him off the ground and pulled him close to her, mumbling quiet promises and oaths that she knew she couldn't keep. Her heart broke more and more with each utterance of every empty vow..._

_Hana didn't know, and she prayed he never would._

_Anna quickly whipped around to the sound of the opening door. Her right hand left her son and she moved it to grip her rosary, prepared to yank it off and use it if the need arose._

_Her son felt no alarm as they went through this same thing every time she was with him when the door opened. This was just the usual for him. No need to be upset, to worry, to be scared. Nothing to fear..._

_Twenty seconds later, Anna relaxed as the door closed and a single man stepped away from it._

_Hana beamed and cried out the man's name, reaching for him with great dedication._

_Seeing his worthless, though still dedicated struggle, the man grinned and stepped toward them._

_The three met half way across the room, exchanging relieved words and caring gestures. For a moment, there was peace. For a moment, everyone was happy._

_There were a lot of things Hana didn't know. This wasn't one of them.__  
_--------------  
**Hana**

I scratched the back of my head as I stepped carefully over the fallen tree trunk. I really wasn't cut out for this kind of work.

I repressed a sigh. But, then again, I really wasn't cut out for any kind of work, was I?

I shook my head, knowing that that was absolutely not true. All this negativity was just getting to me, that was all.

Not that it was all that easy to be positive when the whole damn world was...but I wasn't going to get into that again.

I clenched my teeth. Stupid Anna, sending me on this stupid mission to check the stupid path for stupid guards who will kill me if their stupid eyes catch me.

And stupid Hao for making the stupid world STUPID! **DAMMIT!**

My teeth gritted and I didn't even bother trying to stop them. This should have been Men's job. He was a good snooper. He snooped into my belongings all the time. AND I NEVER MANAGED TO CATCH HIM! NEVER! He was like some kind of phantom!

"Hana-dono..."

"SHUT UP, AMIDAMARU!" I shrieked, my voice far louder than it was safely permitted to be.

And, go figure, someone heard me.

"Over there!" A soldier dressed in red and wielding a foreign-made gun shouted as he pointed over in my direction.

I cursed under my breath and turned to my spirit ally. He was sobbing. My samurai ghost was _sobbing_. For being yelled at! What kind of wimp had my father left me?!

"Amidamaru!" I hissed.

He looked over at me with teary eyes. I smacked my face before continuing.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but we're going to get _nailed _if I can't get you to oversoul. So, if you could, just for a little bit, put your crying fit on hold and help me with this, that would be really great..."

He sniveled for a moment and offered a shaky nod. "O-Okay..."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" I replied, throwing him a relieved smile. That cheered him up the slightest bit. "Okay, ready?"

A sniffle. "Yes."

"Good." I pulled futsu no mitama out of my bag and held it in front of me.

The rushing man seemed to notice what was going on just a moment too late. "Kid's doing something weird!" The soldier shouted, urging more of his men to follow him for back up. Unfortunately for them, they were all human. They didn't stand a chance against me, not even with their raised and ready rifles.

"Amidamaru! OVERSOUL!" I roared, bonding my spirit ally with my ancient stone sword.

Instantly, the sword in my hand took on a new shape. It's blade extended outward and began to glow with a extreme brilliance while its hilt molded and shaped into a bizarre oni-like design. Seconds later, my signature weapon gleamed in my hands.

While it was true that I royally sucked at nearly everything, there was absolutely no contest when it came to the best fighter out of the three of us.

I flashed my enemies a challenging smile. It ran in the family.

I rushed forward, stabbing the red soldier in the thigh and sending him falling to the ground, blood gushing from his open wound. Five years ago, I would have stopped to help him, but not now. This was war. There was no looking back.

Three more soldiers ran toward me, swinging their swords or firing their guns.

They didn't stand a chance--not before, not now.

I swung at them, destroying the one man's gun and knocking the two with swords over. The now unarmed soldier rushed towards me, swinging his arms wildly. I threw my entire body at him, knocking him over with his three cohorts.

Out of nowhere, five more burst forward, each bearing small daggers and a small shot gun. I could tell from their stance that all but one of them favored their dagger. The one that didn't was the most dangerous had to be taken out first.

The gun-soldier aimed his weapon at me and fired--in two places. I couldn't dodge so I did the next best thing.

Because these guys were just human soldiers, I didn't have to worry much about using mana. I had no reason to save it when I didn't need it to protect me from other spiritual entities. With that mindset, I quickly threw up a shield and deflected the oncoming bullets. He fired a quick round, but they all had the same effect.

When he went to reload, I took my chance, dropping the shield and throwing a spiritual burst at him. I didn't think it would would since he wasn't a shaman, but, to my pleasant surprise, it impacted just as it would normally and he tumbled backwards. Hao was probably infusing some of his soldiers with spiritual abilities, though I seriously doubt that it would be anything more powerful than the ability to simply _see_ ghosts, lest they suddenly decided that he wasn't worth following and rebelled. Then again, maybe it wasn't Hao. Maybe I just got lucky and this guy a touch of spiritual ability naturally. That was probably it. Hao hated humans, and I don't think he'd do anything to help them in any way.

My internal monologue was interrupted when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my upper body.

Distraction was another thing that ran in my family.

I shrieked in pain and threw myself in the direction opposite that of the soldier. I didn't have to look to know that I'd been stabbed, and that blood was probably waterfalling down my arm now.

"Hana-dono!" Amidamaru yelped in fright.

"I'm fine," I gasped, horrendous pain sapping the air from my lungs.

Without me even thinking it, Amidamaru used up some of my mana to create a small bandage and brace which covered the wound and held my arm in place.

"Thanks," I said quietly. Amidamaru said nothing in response.

Though my arm still throbbed, I knew I had to return my attention to the battle.

The soldier that had stabbed me, a somewhat short man with a long black beard, was running toward me again, his bloodied weapon brandished in front of him.

I was about to throw myself at him, but something in my stomach told me to pause for a second to survey my situation.

My gut instinct proved correct as I turned and noticed the second man of the four heading toward me. He was significantly closer than the man who had stabbed me, and if I ignored him now, I'd surely pay for it in about fifteen seconds.

I backed up, turned toward the second man and thrust the spiritual sword at him. It hit him hard--not enough to kill him, as killing was something I was absolutely against in all instances except for one--and he collapsed from the shock of it all. Collapsed, but alive. I wouldn't hit him again. I would let him live. This was war, but even in war there had to be someone to say _no_.

The bearded man was closer to me now, though the two remaining men were also within striking range. If I did a roundabout sweep, I could hit them all, but if even one of the men on the ground lifted at all, I risked beheading him, and that was a sight that would surely make me puke.

Regrettably, I didn't have time to weigh my options. I lifted my sword so that it wouldn't reach the men on the ground. The hit would be more critical, but no one was at risk of dying, and that was something I was willing to live with.

I waited, but no more soldiers came at me. The minute battalion was defeated.

"Devil boy!" The red soldier spat at me.

I stared back at him as I absently disengaged my fighting oversoul. My eyes were calm and empty. "It takes one to know one," I replied with an utterly emotionless-sounding tone.

The man glared hatefully at me, but I said no more. Neither did he. Neither did anyone else.

My eyes averted and I stepped forward and over him, heading back to the meeting place where I would be reunited with my friends. My job was done.

I'd found our route.

* * *

Besarki: I. Suck. At. Battle. Scenes. Bah!

This story will eventually have a Living For The Moment set-up. However, unlike in LFTM, where they traveled across the world, this story only ventures to parts Japan--maybe parts of western America, so it will be significantly shorter. Maybe 15, 20 chapters or so, but I only have about half on the story figured out thus far so it may end up rolling out to be longer than LFTM, though I sincerely doubt it.

Threw a little battle scene in there with Hana. I am perfectly capable of translating the name of Hana's oversoul (Oni something) but I left my Mentalite at home (haha. Frenchies will probably be like, "...You left your mentality at home?" since that's apparently the translation) so I can't look up the hiragana and I'm too lazy to copy the kanji off my video or my individual slides (the hiragana is too small to see). So, I'll probably update this chapter as soon as I find out what the second part of his oversoul name is.

I also originally had a prisoner in here, but I took that out because a flashback, Hana's POV, and a ??? POV seemed a little much. It'll be in the next chapter. Also, Men and Anna III return in chapter 5, and, possibly, someone else...

Right, so, short chapter, next will be longer. REVIEW OR NO UPDATE!!!


	5. Every New Day

Besarki: The start of this one was originally in chapter 4, but I YANKED IT OUT to put it in this one instead. :D

Oh, and that thing I said about this being a longer chapter? I lied. ^-^ Plain and simple. However, this FINALLY sets up for the adventure-esque format. YAY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**  
**Don't judge a thing till you know what's inside it  
Don't push me, I'll fight it  
Never gonna give in, never gonna give it up no  
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it  
You can't come uninvited  
Never gonna give in, never gonna give up no  
You can't take me, I'm free_

_~You Can't Take Me, Bryan Adams_

* * *

**???**

I grunted in frustration as I pulled against the chains that bound me. Another useless attempt. I wasn't going anywhere.

I don't know what enrages me more: The fact that Hao has taken over, or the fact that I let it happen.

My eyes sweep over the area around me as I mentally contemplate the many reasons to justify bashing his head in.

Hao is a coward, a pathetic, worthless coward. By imprisoning and enslaving all living threats he has ensured that there will be none who rise against him. At least, none that he feels are a danger to him.

I couldn't stop myself from smirking. Well, that bastard messed up. My son was out there.

My son! HA HA _HA_! Hao won't even see it coming.

My smile grows. By now, he would have probably found the meathead's boy. I pray, for his sake, that he takes after his mother.

The inner monologue makes me laugh a bit, and the soldier at the door turns his head a bit to throw me a suspicious look. Accursed man.

"What are you smiling about in there?" The guard demanded.

My smile only grew, threatening to push the already impatient man over the edge.

"Insignificant troll!" He hissed, jamming his spear into the cell. I was too far back for it to reach me.

I gave the man a taunting smirk. "That makes two of us."

His eyes blazed as he threw himself at the bars, pushing the spear as far back as it could reach. This time, it reached. My face contorted in pain as I was stabbed through the shoulder, the sharp tip digging into scarcely protected flesh.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" The guard sneered, twisting the blade. I flashed him two rows of angry teeth, and his face became all the more psychotic. "Admit that it hurts! Beg for forgiveness! _AND THEN BURN IN HELL!_"

I hissed through my teeth, "You first!"

A moment later, a bolt of lightning rained down from the ceiling and struck the guard, killing him on impact. Instantly, my offender collapsed to the ground in a smoking heap. His grip on his weapon loosened and I was able to yank it out of his hand.

I held the spear up in front of me and glanced down at where it was impaled in my shoulder. The wound was fairly deep. If I just pulled it out, I'd risk profuse bleeding. However, it's not like I could just leave it in, either.

Bracing myself, I decided to go with my first instinct, drawing the weapon _out_ of its entrapment, and sending rivers of blood running down my arm.

I flinched as I freed the weapon, not listening as it clattered to the floor. The fabric of my shirt was already partially ripped and I went to tear off a bit more to use as a sort of makeshift tourniquet until Hao's goons came in to patch me up properly. None of us were allowed to die, after all. We were too valuable, too important to Hao to be allowed the peace of death. In fact, had I not killed the single guard standing outside my cell, Hao would have seen to it himself that he was put to death. As I said, he couldn't have his guards going around _impaling_ their prisoners. At least, not without their master's permission.

I defiantly spat on the ground before me, imagining it to be his face.

He's a coward. Always has been, always will be. A filthy coward. Someone I vehemently _refuse_ to lose to. Someone I _won't_ lose to.

He hasn't broken my will yet. I'm still here.

And if I go down, I'll go down fighting.  
---_-0_----_0_----_0_----_0_----_0_----  
**Hana**

I was only half-listening.

"As you both know, there's a tunnel under the bridge that few know about. Hao wouldn't bother placing troops there because they would just drown. Really, anyone normal would. However, we have Silver Tail, and an oversoul with him shouldn't be something Hao is anticipating us to think of. If I oversoul him, I can move more quickly and can swim the three of us through the tunnel before we drown. There's way too many soldiers on the bridge to go over it, and, theoretically, they shouldn't be paying attention to the ripples in the water so we should be safe with that," Someone was explaining. Probably like Anna. Unless another Patch girl joined our trio.

"So you're positive we can't just beat up the soldiers?" I think that was Men.

"No, we'd be hopelessly outnumbered." Anna again. "Anyway, the tunnel goes in three directions. Sadly, our best bet is probably going to be traveling underground, since there will be fewer guards down there."

"In the sewers? Forget it. Not even Hao is worth a trek through sewage."

"I know it sounds bad, Men, but--"

"Where do the other two branches go?"

"To a river and to a square."

"So we'll take the river. It's cleaner and..." How many times do we have to argue over this? We have a plan and we're sticking to it. Well, in theory, since Men always seems to get his way.

I snapped out of my reverie when I felt suddenly felt a sharp pain in my skull. I turned my baleful expression on the only female of our group of three.

"Focus, pinhead," Anna scolded, staring directly at me with her hands on her hips. In her hands, she held a lightly worn map with a trail marked in red marker. Her journey to the market had been just as successful as my mission to find a path, though she hadn't had to fight anyone.

"I _was!_" I growled, rubbing the back of my head. "Dammit, Anna! Why do you always hit me?!"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm in the middle of reiterating the plan. I know who your dad is, but is it at least possible for you to stay with us for _five minutes?_" I was sure if I should take that as a plain statement or an all-out insult.

"I know the damn plan, Anna! In case you're forgetting, _I MADE IT!_" I shouted back at her.

"Easy, guys," Men interrupted sagely. Men had an old messenger bag around his body. It was filled with meager rations and objects that he had picked up on his little outing.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" Poor kid. Instantly, Anna's head whipped from Men's face to mine. "Okay then, Hana, if you don't need to hear the plan again, then what are we still doing here?"

I threw my hands up, exasperated. "Lazing around here wasn't my idea!"

"For once," Men added.

I turned to glare at him, though he made no move to acknowledge my stare.

After a moment of useless staring, I turned away from him and sighed. Time to be the peacekeeper again.

"Okay, guys, we seriously need to stop this. I'm just going to go ahead and say sorry to both of you. Anna, I'm sorry I wasn't listening to you before. Men, I'm sorry that I don't know what I'm apologizing to you for." The Chinese boy snorted, and I smiled. "Okay, so we all know that the real reason we've all been getting on each others nerves is that--" Men stopped me there.

"I thought we agreed that I get to give the speeches from now on." I couldn't help but snort just as he had moments before.

"Alright, Men. You can give the speech."

"If I must," He said, suddenly playing the martyr. He opened as mouth and went on to say the exact same thing as I was going to say, "The real reason that we've been getting on each others nerves is that we're nervous to leave this place. It's where we've lived for all these years and it's difficult to say goodbye, especially since we know that we may never see it again."

"He's pretty deep for a seven year old," I muttered to Anna, who laughed.

Men glared at me. "I heard that, Hana."

I shrugged. Didn't matter to me.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying, what we're really scared to do, is leave. If we can do that, we'll be in good shape for the rest of the journey."

The three of us exchanged fleeting looks. Anna crossed her arms.

"It's not like we have anything left here," She pointed out, referring to our incinerated house. Men and I shifted uncomfortably. The loss of our home was an iffy topic among the three of us, but, in retrospect, it was also the best reason for us to leave. No home meant no safehouse. No protection from Hao. We'd be in just as much danger here as we would be on the road.

"No," I seconded, "we don't." I paused to glance over my shoulder. Soldiers, as far as the eye could see, but also, something else: a long and winding path. A path stretching from Kyoto to Aomori. The path we were looking for.

I sighed and turned back to my friends. "This is it, guys," I said, nervously.

Anna slowly walked up to me, then, and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. Though she offered no words of comfort, her silent compassion was enough.

Behind us, Men snorted. "Our parents used to do this stuff all the time. This would all be old hat to them."

I had to laugh. "Yeah, it would."

That same laughter-born smile still on my face, I turned back to the road. It wouldn't be easy, but I had faith in our little team of three, team of seven if you counted our spirit allys.

"This is it," Anna repeated.

I scratched the back of my head, a smile on my face. "Yeah, this is it."

This was it. This was the start. This was the time.

This was the beginning, and this was the foundation.

The foundation of every new day.

* * *

Besarki: That last line has to be read slowly to sound good. Anyway...OH MY GOD! TOOK DAMN LONG ENOUGH FOR THE PLOT TO START! SHEESH! AND ENOUGH OF THIS HORRIBLY CORNY ENDINGS! ARGH! (Hopefully we'll get to escape them for a while. I should do a brick wall ending. Oh man, everyone hates those even more than cliff hangers. Haha. No, I won't do that. CAUSE IT'S MEAN!) Anyway, now that we're done with all this, the drastic personality changes are going to stop. Hana may go through an unpredictable number of them, but I'm going to try to keep Anna and Men somewhat static. They'll have their moments, but I don't think anyone likes them being some dramatic, so, yeah.

For some reason, teen Hana really strikes me as a potty mouth. I don't know. Yoh swears more than Anna, but Anna has that raging potential. You mix them together and it seems like, well, Hana would just be that way. I dunno. *Shrugs*

You should have figured out who the **???** was in this chapter. However, if you couldn't, just ask and I'll tell you. HA! I'm making you work. Either think or ask! YOUR CHOICE!

Ugh! Next chapter FINALLY begins the adventure. Oh, and if you figured out who the **???** was in this chapter, you may be able to predict who the next **???** will be. Hee hee! I love games!

And speaking of games, good job to **-CoinJager-** and **Animewitch17** for figuring this one out. Next challenge will be up within the hour. (I'm not going to be announcing the successful guessers for each chapter. If there are more than three, I won't announce the winners one by one unless I really need to take up more space)

REVIEW OR NO UPDATE!


	6. Faith

Besarki: Well, that's a pretty good way of deciding. I won't be working on Living For Tomorrow _at all_ until Fire in the Sky is completed. :) Theoretically, anyway.

Oh, and I'm modeling Silver Tail off of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. ^-^ Don't know why, but it seems like a good fit. I don't remember the other versions of him, and I'm too lazy to look back just for that.

And I have to say it...Oni Kabuto?! DEMON ARMOR?! **LAAAAAME!** Though I have to say, Super Horse Dragon is a THOUSAND times worse. I saw the oni kanji and got all excited, but NOOOOOOOOO, it's oni ARMOR! LAMELAMELAME! UGH! Honestly, Takei!

Okay, so the first passage is in a narrator's POV, but that always looks lame, so I just kept it as **???** the actual **???** for that part is the man described (even though he's probably the most obvious one yet) Anyway, chapter away!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_In this farewell  
There's no blood  
There's no alibi  
Cause I've drawn regret  
From the truth  
Of a thousand lies_

_So let mercy come  
And wash away_

_What I've done  
I've faced myself  
To cross out what I've become  
Erase myself  
And let go of what I've done_

_~What I've Done, Linkin Park  
_**(**This was a really hard chapter to pick a song for because of difference between the feeling in the beginning and the feeling in the end. This applies more to the end of the chapter, so just ignore it for the beginning**)**

* * *

**???**

High on the cliffside of a towering ridge, a single man stood watching the small collection of children down in the canyon interacting with each other, a small smile on his face.

Aside from his tribal-influenced clothing, the man wore a cloak made of animal hide and a few black and white feathers in his long, dark hair.

The man wasn't young, but he wasn't old either--probably being in his late thirties or early forties.

Somehow, the man seemed to know all of the members of the renegade party, though only one of them knew him. Personally, anyway.

The man knew that the oldest of the group was a Patch girl named Anna, the daughter of an official of the just ended Shaman Fight. He knew that the middle child was Hana, the son of his old friend, Asakura Yoh and his wife, Asakura Anna. He knew that the youngest was Tao Men, son of Tao Ren and Iron Maiden Jeanne. Yes, he knew these children well.

Just as he also knew that Asakura Anna, Tao Ren, and Tao Jeanne were all imprisoned in Hao's jail cells now, emaciated and broken.

The man could not repress the sigh that overcame him. He mourned for the loss of life, for the loss of spirit, and of drive. It wasn't fair that yesterday's heroes were now today's discarded trash. It wasn't fair that their children had to grow without their parents' guidance.

It wasn't fair, but that's what it was. The way things were.

And the man mourned for the world.

And yet, he hoped for the future. He had _faith_ in the future.

As a single, lonely tear trailed down his face, the man turned back to the laughing children, and their expressions made him smile.

The three made a good team, he couldn't help but notice. Like a little surrogate family, they cared for each other and kept each other safe. They balanced each other out, and made each other happy. It was a wonderful sight.

However, while all the children were a sight to behold, out of all of them, the man seemed particularly interested in the eldest of the little trio, smiling as she decked the taller, blond-haired boy for laughing at her.

The man laughed a little, smiling at the young woman like a father smiled as his beloved daughter. These were trying times, and yet, if anyone could overcome them, it was those three.

Yes, it was _those three_.

A moment passed, and the man reached slightly out toward the group, though his sad eyes remained fixed on the young girl.

Like a father to his beloved daughter.

_His beloved daughter._

"Be strong, little bird."

---_0---0---0---0-_-_-0---_

**Hana**

Men and I exchanged amused glances as Anna dipped her foot in the water to check the temperature. Seconds later, she jerked her leg back and broke into violent shivers.

"THAT'S FREEZING!" She yelped, shaking her foot out in an attempt to return feeling to the numbed limb. Beside her, Silver Tail sighed and brushed his long lupine tail over the ground.

"It's been a while since the sun has shined, Anna-san," He pointed out dully.

Anna wasn't amused by her spirit ally's comment. She stuck her tongue out and threw her hair over her shoulder. Silver Tail just sighed.

"So anyway," She began, "how do you want to do this?"

I crossed my arms. "Amidamaru should be back any minute with a status report. If the pipeline isn't heavily guarded, and it shouldn't be, then we'll move forward. Everyone knows their job, right?"

Men rolled his eyes. "You and Amidamaru search for anything abnormal with your eyes, Shamash and I looked for abnormalities with our minds, and Anna and Silver Tail paddle. Bason keeps an extra eye out, though remains in his spirit ball form unless he sees anything."

"Right," I affirmed. I dropped my arms, and turned my head, motion caught from the corner of my eye.

"Hana-dono!" Amidamaru cried from the mouth of the underwater pipe. He burst out from underwater and rushed toward me. "Hana-dono."

"Amidamaru. What's the verdict?"

The samurai took a breath. "The cavern is clear. There are guards at the exit, but only a few. It should be no problem."

I nodded. "Thank you, Amidamaru." I turned to Men. "You and Bason are on soldier duty."

Men thrust his hands forward, stretching and grinning mischievously. "Got it."

I turned to Anna. She was in the middle of oversouling Silver Tail, his spiritual essence twirling around her left leg. "Are you ready?"

She smirked. "Always." She reached her arms out to us, taking my hand and taking Men's. "Hold on tight," She urged, grinning hugely before she took off and disappeared below the murky surface.  
---_0---0---0---0-_-_-0---_  
The water was cold, as Anna had previously observed, and was it ever dark. If we didn't run the risk of drowning, I'd tell her to slow down. The likelihood of us being discovered down here was smaller than a grain of rice. Well, it would be if Anna's constant kicking wasn't stirring up all kinds of water vibrations, hence why I considered asking her to slow down.

In the darkness, Amidamaru and I were pretty much useless so the burden fell on Men, which was probably exactly the way he liked it.

I snorted internally. That idiot.

Anna swerved to the side and shot into a different pipe. I wasn't expecting it, but I held on. I turned to check that Men had as well. He was fine.

I turned my head forward once more, searching for soldiers that I knew I wouldn't find.

I was the only one with my eyes open at this point, the only one whose eyes had to fight the rushing water. I couldn't help but feel that this was kinda dangerous seeing as how Anna was the one navigating.

But whatever. If she could steer without looking, then who was I to tell her to do otherwise? Kudos to her for being able to do such a thing. Plus, it's not like I wasn't worried. Anna was perfectly capable.

I think...  
---_0---0---0---0-_-_-0---_  
We had only just stepped out of the frigid water and all hell had already broken out. In the icy depths of the freezing pool, Men's hair had fallen from its grace and gone to lay flat against his head. I found this comical. Anna found it hilarious.

The itako howled like a hyena as Men tried in vain to style his wet hair back into its usual all-commanding presence. Wasn't going well so far, but, then again, who ever styled their hair when it was still _wet_?

"Shut up, Anna!" He shrieked, his face bright red from his extreme embarrassment. His hands gripped at his once spikey hair.

Even I had to bite my tongue as I stood there. His desperation _was_ highly amusing.

"Don't think I don't see you smiling, Hana!" He barked, turning on me now.

"Hey!" I held my hands up defensively, though I couldn't hide the smirk on my face. "I'm not the one who used his hair gel for target practice!"

"YOU'RE DEAD, ASAKURA!" He shrilled, jabbing his spear toward me. I deflected it with my quickly formed oversoul.

"Easy guys," Anna interrupted, still chuckling a bit. She turned toward the forest to our right, pointed an extended finger out toward it. "_That_ is where we need to go," She declared.

Men dropped his weapon and turned toward it. "There?"

Anna nodded, her hands on her hips. "Yep!"

Men paused, looking first at Anna and then at me. His calm expression abruptly changed to one of anger. "Then what the hell are we waiting here for?! LET'S GO!" With that, he barged forward, automatically declaring himself leader of this part of the expedition.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Some things never change, do they?"

Anna giggled and grabbed my hand. "Come on, we better start after him before he gets too far ahead and marches in the wrong direction."

Without waiting for me to respond, she yanked me forward into the foreboding woods, running at full speed and paying little attention to what was going on around her.

But I was.

The moment we crossed into the forest, I immediately knew that something wasn't right.

It wasn't as dark as I would have expected, but it was twice as spooky. Not only was there absolutely _no_ animal life, there was also very minimal plant life aside from the decrepit trees. The level of sound traveling through the range was virtually abysmal and the last thing the forest looked like was safe. Not to mention that fact that there wasn't a single _ghost_ in sight, and places like these usually made really good haunts.

I shuddered. You _knew_ things were bad when a place gave a _shaman_ the creeps.

"Notice anything weird about this place?" I asked as we ran.

Anna frowned in confusion. "Not really. It just seems like your typical haunted forest. No big deal."

My grimace stayed in place. "It takes ghosts to be haunted, and, in case you didn't notice, I can't sense any for miles."

Her face grew immediately suspicious and she slowed to a halt. "What are you trying to say, Hana?"

I glared out into the distance, Amidamaru materializing to a point beside me. His eyes remained fixated just the same as mine.

"Hana...?" She spoke, nervously, it seemed. The feeling was mutual.

A deathly wind brushed across our faces, a ghoulish sound sailed over our heads, and a horrifying chill rain down our spines.

It became immediately apparent that something was horribly wrong here.

And I was beginning to think that there may be a reason for absence of souls in these chilling woods.

"Men," I suddenly realized. A sickening sense of dread filled me. My head whipped toward my friend.

Anna's eyes widened and suddenly, both of us broke out into an all-out run in the direction of our missing friend.

As we ran, we searched, we called, and we panicked.

"Men!" I shouted, something Anna echoed seconds later. There was no answer, and so I tried again. "Men!"

As expected, there was no reply. Only nothing in a vast pit of nothingness.

We continued to run. Run as fast as we could, growing all the more anxious with every step we took.

We called out for him more, but, just as before, he didn't answer. This wasn't good.

A sudden, screeching howl broke through the silence, cracking any inch of peace and level-headedness that may of remained. My eyes became saucers.

"What the hell was that?!" Anna gasped.

I squeezed my eyes shut and then instantly opened them again. "I don't know," I admitted. "Though I'm sure it's nothing good."

Anna shot me a worried look, and I shook my head.

"Just keep running!" I told her, already way out of breath.

We continued forward, never slowing, and not yelling anymore.

We ran and ran.

We continued to search.

Our panic reached new levels.

But we kept our heads. At least for the moment.

My eyes strained to see as far ahead of me as possible. There was a clearing coming up, I noticed. Perhaps Men was there.

I pushed myself to run faster, despite the fact that my legs screamed at me to slow down. There was no time.

Anna followed close behind, slower than me only because, in her fright, she had forgotten to engage her oversoul. It wasn't something I'd blame her for doing.

We soared forward, running faster than we were usually able to. Adrenaline pumped through our veins, fueled by fear and anxiety.

We rushed on, never slowing, never catching our breath.

The fact that we were fast-approaching the clearing did little to alleviate our nerves. We moved ahead, our stress and dread just as unbearable as before.

When the run was finally over, when we had finally reached our destination, we jerked to stop.

Our stomachs dropped through the floor.

Before us was none other than Tao Men lying motionless at the feet of a humongous, four-eyed Inugami.

* * *

Besarki: GASP! FIRST MAJOR CONFLICT! Have you noticed that, for someone who sucks at writing battle scenes, I sure set a lot of them up for myself. o.o Aye.

Hao seems to really buy into Japanese folklore so I thought it would be kinda cool to make a lot of his lackeys into mythical beasts from Japanese legend. I dunno. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of Japanese folklore, Inugamis are dog spirits. Generally, they're good and helpful spirits, but, in this case, I'm using one as a monster. So, bad guy this time around. Sorry. Might be a tainted spirit or something. We'll explore that next chapter.

Well, the next challenge is up and has been for a few days. If you get this one, I'll give you three points cause I love the two characters from this chapter's challenge so much :D﻿

Someone _very_ important is going to be showing his face (sort of) soon. Who is it? Take a guess. You'll know -.-

ANYWHO! REVIEW!

Ah, last thing: I don't think I'll get to update again before this weekend so I'm going to go ahead and wish everyone a happy Halloween! Eat lots of candy!


	7. Hellhound

Besarki: So guess what I found out this week? There is absolutely no place for miles by my college that sells manga. That means: no new manga. No new SK graphic novel until I go home for Thanksgiving break. D: However, there is this kick ass comic store which made my jaw drop when I walked in. I won't deny it. I look like a total nerd walking in there. I'm always the only girl, BUT I DON'T CARE! *Grasps _Titans _and _Teen Titans_ defensively* :D

Speaking of which, congrats to those who guessed that the two mystery characters were Beast Boy and Raven in the previous round of the picture game. :) I was sure that would stump you. I'll have a new one out probably later tonight, so, by the time you read this, it'll probably be ready. It's going to be something dumb like Bambi XD Kidding, kidding. I don't know what it'll be, though I'm writing this days before this will probably be posted. (/Off Topic) (can't use actual tags here cause ffnet will be like, noooooooo! DELETE DELETE DELETE! I've always wondered why it does that...)

Ah, sorry. I will always be a Shamanite (only one person will get this reference **;)** ) but I absolutely LOVE comic books. Gar/Raven is my favorite pairing. Has been for years. Yoh/Anna is definitely a close second though. Extremely close. And they're so much fun to write! I luv them! Don't hate me TT_TT . But anyway, back to SK related stuff. Like this chapter. And Jumbor instead of Hana's Epoch chapter 2. I'm still fuming over that.

How obvious is it that I haven't been editing at all? I usually work on flow a little after the chapter ends, but lately, I just haven't had time. Hum...

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Whoa, I feel just like we're taking  
Control  
Of the night, of the night  
Whoa, I feel just like we're losing  
Control  
But if you let go, I'll let go tonight_

_~Control, Metro Station_

* * *

There were two sounds to be heard in the forest at that very moment. First, was the hushed breathing of our little group of three. Second, was the over-exaggerated _panting_ of our demonic company.

Leaving home was beginning to seem like a worse and worse idea with every moment that passed.

"Holy...shit..." I whispered.

Beside me, Anna flinched, then swiftly drew her sword from its sheath. "I don't think there's much holy about this thing. Oversoul!"

I followed her lead. "Amidamaru! Oversoul!" The Oni Kabuto materialized instantly, and without a moment's hesitation, I rushed toward the monster.

"Hana!" Anna yelled after me, her voice full of panic. I couldn't exactly blame her. It's not like I'd explained myself. To be honest, it's not like I had all that great a plan either.

"I'll keep four eyes busy! Get Men out of there!" I called over my shoulder. She seemed to stare for a moment before she, albeit reluctantly, nodded and headed into a bend where she would ultimately curve around and grab Men. I was glad she didn't argue with me. Being the so-called _leader_ of our little bunch had its perks.

Ahead of me, the dog demon seemed to be losing interest in our beaten friend. It still stood over him, like it was daring us to try to take its catch away, but at this point, it didn't appear to care about keeping him if letting him go meant acquiring two more. But then, unfortunately for this guy, that wasn't our way.

As I barreled toward the beast, I took a moment to observe my target.

The inugami wasn't normal, that much was obvious. While I'd never seen one in real life and had always assumed them to be at least partially legend, I'd always known for sure that these dog spirits were peaceful and kind. This one, this huge, ten foot inugami with blood and saliva dripping from its oversized jaws was definitely nothing of the sorts. As I'd mentioned earlier, the inugami had four, glowing red eyes, similar to those of a European or American demon--when you're a shaman, you know the difference (AN: Between European/American and Asian)--though that little detail wasn't the only thing utterly wrong about it. The beast's fur was pitch black and its fangs too long, lengthier even than elephant tusks while its claws were like crescent scythes--curved and terribly sharp.

A machine. That's all it was now. The beast was a machine, a tool to someone with more power than anyone else on Earth, and the way the inugami's face was so horribly deranged and crazy left me without the slightest shadow of doubt as to who it was controlling this tainted soul.

"_Hao!_" I shrieked as I dove at the monster, releasing a fury of blows and causing it to rear up and howl in tortured pain.

I jumped back, out of its way as it came crashing back to the earth. The creature's eyes locked on me, full of hatred and rage, and it lunged forward, Men completely forgotten where he lay.

"Anna, now!" I yelled as I lured the creature farther and farther away. "Come on you oversized rat!"

The inugami's eyes raged as it dove at me. It landed just where I had been seconds after I moved rightward. Amidamaru's agility made me too agile to be hit by such an unfocused target, but it's not like it knew that.

"Isn't that right, big guy?" I taunted, my weapon ready.

The creature snarled, ghostly saliva flying from its opened mouth. It threw its head forward and roared, its mind completely focused on me now as Anna snuck in from behind and rescued Men. Good. One less thing for me to worry about.

The creature dove at me, only to be evaded and struck with a sweeping blade. It screamed in pain, backing away from me.

I didn't give it the chance to recover. In a single swoop, I jumped forward and ran my sword across the demon's face, leaving a long and gaping crescent shaped wound. It's howling ripped the sky in halves.

For an instant, its glaring red eyes flickered, turning a light gold in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, before the blood red overtook them again.

Startled by the momentary shift, I let my guard down, and though I was open for only brief seconds, the creature took its chance and swiped its massive paw across my chest.

To my utter shock, the hit glanced right off, not even breaking the skin and phasing right through the fabric of my shirt. The creature stumbled backward in disbelief and shock, though the reason was as clear as day to me.

I'd been wrong before. I wasn't fighting a demon, I was fighting an influence, an evil influence which was forcing the actual owner of this form to react in such a way. Hao hadn't sent a demon after us, he'd possessed a soul of goodwill and corrupted it. Because he was a piece of crap who couldn't fight his own battles. But this cowardly jerk had another thing coming. By using only influence, Hao spread his power too thin and now he was facing resistance on two sides. He would lose this battle.

The inugami roared. It knew that this was a losing battle as much as I did. Unfortunately, the evil spirit within it--part of Hao--was driving it to madness with the fear and rage warring within it. In a frenzied panic, began throwing its body every which way, catching my ankle in one of its attacks and knocking me off balance.

I fell to the floor, and immediately noticed, to my horror, that the inugami was about to collapse right on top of me. I braced myself, hoping it would phase right through like it had earlier, but realistic enough to know that the likelihood of that happening twice was virtually non-existent.

I flipped the Oni Kabuto into a fully defensive armor and held it over myself, ready to withstand the attack even if only a little bit as the creature came closer and closer to the ground.  
_  
**KRSHHHHH!**_

The sound of armor plating colliding with a body of flesh pulled me from my reverie. I disengaged the armor of my oversoul to search for whatever had produced such a sound.

And found it in Tao Men--going head-on against the inugami, his spear extended and piercing into the ghoul's haunted flesh. The monster shrieked at the top of its lungs.

Men dropped back to the earth, landing in a graceful fashion. The inugami fell before him, a cloud of dust being kicked up in its wake.

The monster lifted its head once more, roared, and then dropped dead--the evil spiritual influence possessing it screaming as it was thrust from its body. A gold lining suddenly formed around the beast and slowly, gradually, it began to shrink. Its fur turned from black to light brown and its eyes from crimson to a brilliant gold. Its claws retracted and its ears flopped over, giving it the appearance of a plain and ordinary puppy.

A moment passed, and then the little dog grunted and pushed itself to its feet. The now minute inugami puppy yawned and stretched its limbs before barking a few times and wagging its little tail.

My jaw dropped. I figured it wasn't normal before but I wasn't expecting...this.

The puppy beamed and loped over to me. It bent down in front of me and licked my face while Men looked on in shock. He was able to believe this about as much as I could.

The inugami offered me one more smile before it turned and bounded off into the distance, fading into nothingness as it crossed over to the other side.

I shook my head and pushed myself to my own two feet. "Thanks," I said to Men who was standing a bit off to the left.

He snorted. "Yeah, you better be thankful. Without me, you'd be dog chow."

Yeah, totally disregard the fact that I totally saved your ass less than twenty minutes ago. Good ol' Men.

Men stuck his nose up in the air. "The brute deserved what it got. It should have known better than to try its luck against the likes of us." He boasted. "Not that _you_ two would have survived without me."

"I'd say we got lucky," Anna remarked, walking up to join us. "Lucky it was an Inugami, anyhow."

Men stared at her like she had two heads. "Did that thing eat your brain? It tried to kill us!"

She shrugged. "Not of its own choice, as you should have figured out by now." Obviously not. Men gawked at her, uncomprehending. I could almost see the nerves pinching in her face. "Inugami's are peace-loving spirits. It was probably difficult to force it to violence."

"Force it?"

"The creature was cursed, Men," I interjected. Cursed by someone who may suddenly be viewing us as a threat to his tyranny.

Men couldn't find the words to reply to that--perhaps because my sudden seriousness caught him off guard, unnerved him.

"We only won that fight because the real spirit was good and it was on our side. It fought alongside us and allowed us victory. We have that little dog to thank for what happened today."

The others remained quiet, fully aware that, had the inugami truly been a demon, we probably wouldn't have gotten away unscathed. And yet, it was pointless to dwell on something so maudlin and depressing. The truth was, it didn't make a difference. It didn't mean a thing.

We had won the day, and, for now, that was all that mattered.

* * *

Besarki: You wanted Men? You got him. Savin' the day. Shish boom bah.

Meh. The top author's note was really long (sort of) and I _am _feeling maudlin right now, so rather than bore you all to death or make you want to go all emo, I'm going to cut out here.

So...that's all for now. I'll have the next challenge up within the hour. Review.

Oh...and happy Thanksgiving. Sorry these chapters take so long to post. :(


	8. Requiem

Besarki: SPECIALGUESTWRITER! SPECIALGUESTWRITER! SPECIALGUESTWRITER! Iiiiiiiit's Grazereeeeee!

Grazere: Hey, you deserve most of the credit for the chapter.

Besarki: Aww, well thanks, but you know, you definitely helped out quite a bit. Added a lot of humor value. Especially to Men.

Grazere: I just really love envisioning Men's character.

Besarki: He's such a wiseass! You have to adore him. Anyway, I did still write the bulk of the chapter ('cause it's my plot and I kinda have to. Grazere doesn't really know where we're going), but Grazere definitely contributed. See if you can detect Grazere's writing! The "Omniscient" parts are entirely my writing. Compare it to the middle section with Hana, Anna, and Men, which is a blend between my own style and Grazere's. Hee hee! This is gonna be great!

Oops. Forgot this originally: Omniscient is a narrator (as in 3rd person Omniscient), but it sounds better, don't you think?

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
All the right friends in all the right places  
So yeah, we're going down, they got  
All the right moves and all the right faces  
So yeah, we're going down, they said_

_Everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
Yeah, we're going down, they said  
Everybody knows, everybody knows where we're going  
Yeah we're going down_

_~All the Right Moves, OneRepublic  
_

* * *

**Omniscient**

The alarms of Hao's unholy fortress blared as a a single, thin shadow slunk along the darkness falling off the building.

A parade of soldiers bustled by, each wielding a sword, a dagger, or both, and wearing a long red sash across his chest and waistline, replacing the gunbelt on most soldiers. None of these were gunmen, something the shadow found strange. It led him to think that perhaps Hao did not truly believe in such drastic weaponry and only allowed it in the field. Perhaps his morals were higher than the shadow had previously thought. Perhaps he was still good at heart. And then, perhaps the shadow would never know.

"This way!" The leader of the charge barked, leading his army down a different corridor, one even farther from their target. The soldiers followed without thought, without will, and without wanting to. As the last straggler rushed past his target, the shadow quickly made his way farther up the flame-lit passageway.

The _clop-clop-clop_ of his feet hitting the pavement was nearly drowned out by the screaming alarm--something he was thankful for, because, in his haste, he had no time to mask them. Not that that would have stopped him had the situation been altered. Nothing in the world could have kept him away.

As he ran, he clung to the stone-emblazoned wall--his hands functioning as empathic channels, guiding the thoughts and feelings of those on the other side into his mind.

_Gloom._

_Regret._  
_  
Despair._

So much negativity in such a small amount of space: things were worse than he could have ever imagined.

_Where are you? _He mentally asked the atmosphere, knowing that speaking even a single word aloud out here in the open could be the death of him.

Onwards he ran, quiet as a fox scurrying across the forest floor. He hand hung on the wall, listening to the moans and sobs of the lost souls on the other side of it. They were quieter now, as he grew farther and farther away from the main prison. Security here was lax compared to where he was going.

As he came to another corner, he slowed to a halt. There was a guard hiding just around the corner--he could feel it. To continue forward this way would be suicide. The guard would see him, and _Hao_ would be alerted. He couldn't let that happen.

The shadow backed up and glanced over his shoulder. No, he couldn't go back. There would be no detour he could take that wouldn't be just as guarded as this one.

He held his breath and pressed himself against the wall.

_The wall!_

Yes! He could climb the wall! The stones would provide proficient enough holds for him, and there would be no guards up there.

Instantly, the shadow flipped around, searching for the nearest viable hold. It took him only a moment to locate one.

Slowly, carefully, he scaled the side of the graying tower. His eyes remained transfixed on wall, too cautious to take his attention off it for even a moment.

"Sarge!" A man called from below. The shadow didn't dare look. "Sarge, we lost him!"

The clank of heavy armor alerted him that the man around the bend had been one of Hao's "Super Guards," the stronger soldiers who could take on half an army by themselves. Often times, they were possessed and oversouled with onis and other ultra-powerful tainted spirits, providing them with enhanced strength and durability. The Super Guards were, thankfully, few in number and were only used in special cases, to guard special people.

In other words, someone important was nearby. The shadow could only hope it was the person he was looking for.

The shadow zoned out the rest of the conversation as he crawled around the corner, quickly moving past the torch's thrown light which could give him away if he wasn't careful.

Safely past the Super Soldier's post and back into the darkness, the shadow dropped down from the wall and headed deeper into the encampment.

The cries of the agonized souls picked up again, screaming so loud that it nearly ruptured his ear drums. He tried in vain to sift through them, to find the voice he was so desperately searching for. He couldn't hear it.

The horrible possibility that the voice he was looking for might not be calling anymore drifted over him.

_No,_ He said to himself. _This was one person too important for Hao to simply allow to die. Too important to me, to him, to his terrible plan..._

Alive. Has to be alive.

The shadow continued his trek, mentally apologizing to the tortured souls who cried out for help as he pushed them from his mind, the anguished cry of a dying child pushing through the rest and cutting him to the bone.

The sounds brought tears to his eyes, and it was all he could do to keep running.

_I'll be back for you. For all of you. I promise._

With his mental promise uttered, his journey continued, taking him down winding paths and around searching soldiers.

An unlucky twist of fate brought him face to face with a straggling soldier whom he was forced to incapacitate before any warning could be released. He felt bad leaving the young soldier lying there mutilated, but the wounds were not life-threatening and his comrades would help him when he was located. That was enough for the kindly man, and he was able to keep on with little remorse.

_Has to be close. Running out of area,_ His mind whispered to him, as his eyes did a quick sweep over his surroundings.

The shadow had seen enough previously to know how the encampment was set up. Hao's fortress had one big main prison, and about a dozen scattered smaller ones, all connected to the main tower, and all but one accessible from the outside. The one that wasn't had only one cell, empty because Hao was waiting for someone in particular to be captured and used to fill it.

The stronghold itself was designed so it functioned as a giant maze, long walls serving no purpose other than connecting the individual holds to each other and to the High Tower. The walls that formed the massive labyrinth were more designed to keep escapees in rather than to keep offenders out. Hao just _dared_ his enemies to try, overly confident that he could take anything they threw at him. At the stage he was at now, the shadow knew that he probably could.

So, since he had already passed the main prison, as well as...eight of the smaller holds, if he was counting correctly, then that left a total of three more buildings to inspect. Three more. He was almost there.

_I'm coming for you. I'm coming. Can you hear me?_

No response. Of course. Still too far away.

Which ruled out the prison nearest to him. He ran past it.

The shadow stayed close to the wall as he advanced forward. There were two more dungeons, each very close to each other. The shadow had never been held here, but he had seen them many times. There were three flights of giant steps leading to the High Tower. Sitting on the pedestals that stood at either side at the top of the first flight were a set of twin chambers, both entirely identical except for some erosion in the huge stones that made up their composition.

_That_ was where his target resided. The problem was getting inside them.

The stairs were heavily guarded, and while there was a second set of stairs within the grand steps themselves, it would be difficult getting to them.

He slowed to a stop and paused against the wall he was running along. He knew that there was really only one option.

He'd have to fight, and possibly kill the guards. War makes for hard choices, but this was definitely something he was totally against. His whole life, there was nothing he loathed more than the excuse, "I did it because I had to." To him, it was cowardice, poor thinking, and unforgivable. But now he found himself thinking: _Was_ there another choice? Was death really the only option?

He glanced in his desired direction.

He could see the dungeons from here. He was close, so close.

_Can you hear me?_ He asked the wind.

_..._

Though there was no perceivable answer, his eyes widened and lips curved into an enthused smile. He recognized the tenor of the silence. The mind was one he recognized.

_Alive. You're alive._

_...  
_  
His eyes glowed with elation. Alive. Alive...

A new-found shot of confidence shot through him. He analyzed the situation again.

There were two dungeons a few hundred feet in front of him. Within one of them was the one he was searching for, weak and ill, but alive.

A single Super Guard stood between the two structures. One on one, the shadow could beat him, and...keep him down. If others came, as they inevitably would, then he would probably be forced to extreme violence, possibly killing an entire wave of them--something he would go to any length to avoid.

He paused, thinking that statement over. _Almost_ any length.

He determined that a fight would take too much time. He'd quickly and harshly attack and incapacitate the Super Guard, something that would probably leave him paralyzed but alive, then hastily determine which chamber held what he sought.

It would take only a moment to enter inside the correct establishment. Once within, he would inevitably be met with more guards, though these would be normal soldiers with no special abilities, making it easy to bypass them with little difficulty.

The shadow had never been in one of these prisons, but he could tell, just by looking at one from the outside, that these twin dungeons were small. Once inside, it wouldn't be hard to find what he was looking for.

Getting out would be significantly easier than getting in due to a secret weapon with which he had the ability to fly, a distinct advantage he had over the average guard, or even a Super Guard for that matter--an advantage he was going to need. His target was going to be in no condition to be partaking or withstanding any kind of battle.

The shadow swallowed. This was it, then. Months of preparation all built up into what he was about to do.

He only hoped his luck held.

With one quick spring, the shadow lunged forward, sprinting at full speed into the jaws of the beast.

"Look! There he is!" Someone yelled, a call that met with the accompaniment of a barrage of war cries and hyping statements.

The shadow ran forward, slipping into the darkness whenever he could to avoid the very-average vision of the very reluctant guard.

The Super Guard on the steps saw him and prepped his katana, holding it diagonal across his body.

The shadow narrowed his eyes and braced himself, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the giant soldier.

The Super Guard sported a cocky smile and waved his huge arm over the space in front of him, urging all the normal soldiers back. He was confident he could handle this shadow man on his own.

He was wrong.

The shadow jumped to the side as a humongous tremor racked the earth, splitting near the middle and dragging the screaming Super Guard down into its depths. It wasn't the shadow's original plan, but it worked, it wasn't a lethal strike, and it managed to scare the remaining soldiers into fleeing. The fracture wasn't so deep that the soldier would be unable to free himself, but it was deep enough that it would take him some time--more than necessary for the shadow to make his rescue and escape.

Bypassing the long indent, the shadow rushed into the location occupying the midpoint between the two prisons. He hastily looked both ways and put his head down and closed his eyes, listening for the desired voice.

_Where are you? _He asked.

A quiet sigh rang in his left ear, and his eyes flew open. The left one!

The shadow quickly turned and ran into the unprotected front door of the left prison. He originally debated just tearing through the wall, but decided that to be too dangerous. He didn't know how strong the structure was and couldn't risk it collapsing.

Once inside, the shadow paused to glance around the building. The inside was very basic: Five stone walls--four on the sides and one in the middle, dividing the lengthy cell block from the front of the building where there sat two chairs and a small table. moving around the middle wall would take him to the prisoners, including the one he sought. Moving around to the other side of the wall, he should find sixteen holding cells with a single person in each one. There were only two armed guards--and both just normal soldiers who guarded the inside. Theoretically, the worst was behind him.

The shadow slipped around the corner only to jerk to a sudden halt in intensive shock. A horrible sense of dread washed over him.

The cells were empty--every single one of them. Had he come this entire way only to fail?

"Intruder!" One of the two guards shrieked, rushing toward the bewildered man. Had the soldier's opponent been anyone else, to catch him off guard would assure victory, but, sadly for him, his target was no average warrior.

The shadow caught the guard's extended katana by the blade and ripped it out of his hands. Immediately after, he kicked him in the stomach and sent him rolling to the ground. The second soldier hung back and the shadow was forced to rush him.

The shadow stayed low as he approached the second man who evidently preferred a good defense over any kind of offense. The shadow unsheathed his own sword for the first time that day and used it to knock his adversary's weapon out of his hands with a single, carefully aimed swing. As the soldier's weapon clattered to the ground, the man immediately began to panic. Unarmed and faced with a very threatening-looking opponent, he fell to his knees, praying for his life.

The shadow faced away from the man, glaring into the darkness. Wetness stung at his eyes. Had Hao tricked him? Had he really come here for nothing?

He closed his eyes and turned his head toward his left arm as he reached up to wipe away his own tears. For a long moment, he stood motionless, his mind reeling. And then, finally accepting that fate may just be far crueler than he could have ever imagined, his eyes opened.

And his breath fled from his chest. He had miscalculated, his information had been wrong. The cells _weren't_ all empty. One, a single cell, was occupied.

At the very end of the lane, on the left side, a twenty-nine year old woman with filthy blond hair and a pair of scorching golden eyes watched him from the back of her cell. Her blank face held no expression, no comprehension, no fear. And yet, while she gave no immediate outward hint that she recognized him, she very clearly did. Her eyes glistened ever so slightly, and the shadow loosed a happy, relieved sigh.

"Anna."

**-XXXXXXXXXXXXXX-**

**Hana**

"You could have been killed."

Men rolled his eyes at me. "And?"

Anna snorted. "You were honestly expecting him to _admit_ to doing something wrong?"

I had to sigh. "Well, no, but I couldn't help but wonder what the _hell_ he was thinking."

Men sneered. "I was thinking that you stunk worse than that sewer and I couldn't wait to get away from you."

"Oh bullshit. You stunk of it, too. You were just being a pigheaded moron."

"This pigheaded moron just saved your life, thank you."

"Only after that inugami monster...thing beat the living shit out of you."

He shook his head in disgust. "You were having a great time of it as well."

Anna stood in the back snickering.

I turned around to glare her. "And you shut up, you didn't do a damn thing."

She shrugged. "Including get my ass kicked?"

"Bitch."

She winked.

"Anyway, anyone know where we are?" I asked, dismissing them both.

"Nope."

"Not a clue."

I sighed. "Do we at _least_ know which way we _were_ going? We can retrace our tracks. Our footprints should still be visible."

Anna turned around and pointed to our tracks. "If we follow our prints back to where they suddenly turn or where it's obvious the stride increased, we should be able to find our original direction. In other words, the way we were going before we saw Men half-dead on the ground."

"WHY ARE WE BACK TO THIS?!"

"Hey, not our fault you suck at life."

Men gritted his teeth. "How the hell did you become such an asshole when your father is Asakura Yoh?"

Anna grinned. "Because his _mother_ is Asakura Anna."

I shrugged. "All the same."

"Well anyway," Anna began, "Hao's fortress is in the Northeast. We're...nowhere near there."

Men snorted. "Oh yeah, think positive."

I hit him in the shoulder. "Don't be a jerk."

"I'm not being a jerk. I'm just bored. Incredibly bored, and this is incredibly boring." His tone abruptly turned sarcastic. "I mean, not that arguing isn't my favorite thing in the _entirety_ of this expansive world, but don't we have a job that we're supposed to be doing?"

"That's what we were just talking about."

"Yeah, well, talking and doing are two totally different things, aren't they?" He smirked, and I could barely keep myself from impaling him on my easily oversouled sword.

"Come, come, children," He snickered, marching off in the direction of our footprints, as full of himself as he always was.

Grudgingly, I cracked my knuckles and headed off after him.

-**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**-

**Omniscient**

Beads of terrified sweat dripped down the lone soldier's face as he entered the throne room of his overlord and master. He made his way across the room with deliberate care and caution. His master was a truly ruthless man and would not take kindly to this news. This only made the soldier travel even more slowly. Unfortunately, despite his sluggish trek, he did eventually reach his master's throne. Shaking, and with fear bright and apparent in his eyes, he bowed his head.

"Master, prisoner 0253 has disappeared," He relayed, horribly afraid for his life and everyone else's who had been working in that general section. He was not expecting his overlord's answer.

"I know."

The guard glanced up, frightened. His master was smiling and staring out over the soldier's head, as if he didn't even see him there. He chuckled lightly, and the guard knew that this could mean absolutely nothing good.

"Well, this is about to get very interesting, isn't it?" He asked with a malicious grin.

The soldier could only stare in apparent horror as Hao's twisted laughter echoed throughout the entire kingdom.

* * *

Besarki: Welllll, whaddaya think? Love it? Hate it? Think Besarki needs to get off her ass and update more? Hehe. Okay, some things to address:  
1) If you're wondering why _The Shadow_, as he's temporarily called (though his identity is pretty obvious) suddenly has both telepathy and empathy when he never did before, well, I figure that he's older so he got some new abilities. Plus, the rescue mission is just so much more powerful with that power added. Okay...so honestly, I totally didn't even realize I was writing that until Grazere pointed it out. I've been reading too many comic books. Just go with it.  
2) I had to edit some of our original draft for the trio's conversation. The one Grazere and I wrote out was hilarious, but it was borderline explicit (okay, so it wasn't really that bad, but it just didn't fit the situation). I don't write things above teen level, and I doubt I ever will. That's my rule! And Grazere will follow it whether he likes it or not! *Chases him around with a crowbar*

Grazere: *Uses ninja skills to disarm her*

Besarki: *Gapes* THAT'S NOT FAIR! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! *Steals crowbar back and whacks Grazere over the head*

Grazere: *Is whacked* (Besarki: Hahaha. I agree. Grazere is quite whacked. XD(I gotta tell ya: Writing author's notes through text messages is way hard, don't you agree 'Zere?)) . Thank you all for reading. Hope to be back soon.

Besarki: WAIT! Before we go, I have to tell you all to go see Avatar! I went to go see it recently with Grazere and two other people, thinking it was going to be totally lame. IT. KICKED. ASS. GO SEE IT NOW! IT'S FANTASTIC! GO SEE IT! Read the chapter, review, and then go see Avatar and PM me to tell me how much you loved it along with your answer to the next challenge if you're playing that game. DO IT NOW! GO! Okay, now that that's out of the way--GO SEE AVATAR--I think it'll be okay to close. Talk to you all soon! :D


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